Emperor
The Emperor is leader and ruler of the Imperial Invictan Empire. The position is chosen from and by the Grand Council of Lords. While officially the head-of-state and the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Military, the Emperor is by no means the absolute ruler. He is subject the influential Elector Lords, and countless other individuals who officially or unofficially hold vast power in the Empire. The first Emperor was Erus Vertilius the Great. Upon assuming his power, Erus would lead the Imperatorian States into a new age of conquest and glory. The current Emperor is Ryzard von Vertilius, presumably a descendent of the first Emperor, but it has not yet been proven. Notable Emperors The list below contains several well known Emperors throughout Imperial History. However, the list is far from complete, as there have been over a hundred Emperors. Emperor Erus Vertilius the Great Erus Vertilius was the first Emperor, and one of the many individuals who initiated the formation of the Imperial Invictan Empire. He would responsible for the establishment of the basis of Imperial Law to this very day, and set an example of leadership for those who would follow. He would spend the rest of his reign unifying the peoples of the Empire. The beacon of hope that he and so many others helped to lit, would not be snuffed out, by his will, and by the will of his people. It would not be lead by the craven, it would not be torn apart the greedy, and it would not be divided by its diversity. it would be united by a common belief in the state, and each other. It was this envisionment of turning the Empire from mere state into a symbol of hope and order that Erus Vertilius would spend the rest of his life invested in. Peace existed in the heart of the Empire. While Orkish and other foreign threats still plagued the Imperial power, it was nothing the Imperial Military could not handle. Erus Vertilius would rule for decades come, until his death of old age. His reign was one of prosperity and glory. Emperor Taurus Vertilius Taurus Vertilius was the second Emperor. He followed in his father's footsteps, and continued Erus's legacy. Taurus proved his competence and ability to lead to the Council of Lords. Like his father, Taurus Vertilius maintained the unity of the Empire. Emperor Inscitus Vertilius the Incompetent Inscitus’ reign would cause a divide between the many races of the Empire, a divide that never truly be mended until the reign of Emperor van Mordecai the Great. A brief and relatively bloodless civil war broke out within the Imperatorian sector, as the Council of Lords declared Inscitus an enemy of the state. The incompetent Emperor attempted to retake his throne by force with his few loyal forces, but was ultimately defeated by Lord Marshal von Darask, and Inscitus’s brother, Admiral Consius Vertilius. Emperor Klaus von Darask the Great From a young age, Klaus von Darask was an ambitious legionary, he had fought against many enemies on hundreds of battlefields. As a warrior of the Empire, he felt that only one power was capable of bringing order to the chaos that plagued the sectors of the fallen republic and beyond. Only one power that could protect its people. Only one power that should rule the stars. Klaus von Darask sought to see Empire stand as above all. After the defeat of Inscitus the incompetent, Lord Marshal Klaus von Darask of Reichka was elected as the new Emperor. With his new found power, Darask began vast political and military reforms. Unlike the Emperors who preceded him, Darask sought to expand the Empire to far greater extents, and make Erus Vertilius’s dreams of an Empire over the old the Republic a reality. Emperor von Darask transformed the Empire from a sleeping giant, to military superpower. Under Klaus von Darask, the Empire was heavily involved in the conflicts that occured between Imperial and Royal territory, such as assisting the Kor’korond Dominion against the Rubrum Order and their allies. Emperor von Garen After the natural death of Emperor von Darask, one of his top officers, General von Garen, would be elected as his successor. General von Garen would take on the name of his predecessor, and would become the second Emperor of the Daraskian dynasty. Emperor Tyrus the Conqueror Emperor Tyrus of Roma, led a great conquest against enemies of the Empire, and further expanded upon the military set up by Klaus von Darask. His reign would see great expansion in the Empire, as he pushed for war and colonization. Emperor van Mordecai the Great Emperor van Mordecai of Obscura led the Empire through one of the largest wars in galactic history, the Second Imperial-Royal War. His leadership was an exemplar of courage, wisdom, and unity. While he did not conquer vasts amounts of territories like Emperor Darask or Tyrus, he further unified the peoples of the Empire, and built upon the principles of unity that Erus Vertilius first set. His rule also saw the formation of the Imperial Ententes, as he was eager to gain allies during the cold war period before the Second Imperial-Royal War. Emperor Boris van Vladislav Emperor Boris van Vladislav of Ruslavia led the Empire during Secrahara's Betrayal. While perhaps not a great military leader himself, he was not blinded by the politics of the time, and appointed competent leaders to lead the Empire during the time of chaos. Emperor Solum II With the election of Lord Admiral Solum II as Emperor, the bond between the Empire, Zombora, and Novusia was strengthened, as he ushered in an age of peace and prosperity between the three powers. Thanks to the efforts of Emperor van Mordecai and Emperor Solum II, the Empire would see two centuries of prosperity within its cosmic borders. Expansions into the stars for Imperial glory came to a relative stop, when compared to previous ages. Emperor Culigar Emperor Culigar, of Imperia made empty promises to his allies, the Zomborans and Novusians. He promised to bring down the full might of the Empire on the Ethereals, but no great Imperial campaign was ever launched. What he did do, was keep the Ethereal forces at bay, and did not allow them to advance any further in the direction of the fallen ancient republic. Emperor Hayden Nelvex the Great Culigar, saw potential in a young Invictan admiral, Hayden Nelvex of Armara. He knew Nelvex could do what he could not. Culigar placed Admiral Nelvex in charge a large portions of the Imperial forces that fought to resist the Ethereal invasion. Admiral Nelvex met with unprecedented success against the Ethereal forces, and unlike other fronts, he retook vast swaths of stars lost to the invaders. In many encounters with the enemy forces, Nelvex displayed his competence and expertise as a military leader. His ability to think ahead of his enemies, to anticipate their maneuvers was matched only by few. Even against an Ethereal commander, who with their psychic abilities could read the minds of anyone within their power’s radius, Hayden Nelvex still overcame in spite of all the unfavorable odds. Many compared him to long gone legends of the Empire, such as Praetor Envinco of Roma, Emperor Tyrus, and even Emperor von Darask. After Culigar finally past, the Grand Imperial Council elected Hayden Nelvex to lead the Empire. Emperor Hayden Nelvex launched a great crusade against the Ethereals. After a long of bloody conflict, he brought ruin upon the Ethereal empire. Unfortunately, he would never see the true defeat of the Ethereals. As assassination initiated by the enemy was successful. However, this only proved to further the Empire's hate against the Ethereals, and someone far more brutal would assume the position of Emperor. Emperor Malcadox the Ruthless Emperor Malcadox would lead the Imperial forces on a ruthless campaign that would finally end the Ethereals once and for all. For the first decades of his reign, Emperor Malcadox conquered thousands of more worlds in the name of the Empire. While Malcadox may not have been as beloved by his people as Hayden Nelvex, the merciless war he fought against the Ethereals was just as successful as Nelvex’s, possibly even more so. Emperor von Vlader the Terrible Emperor von Vlader of Reichka was the reason that the Crisis of the Four Emperors began. His ruthless and careless leadershio led to the fragmentation and distablization of the Empire. Over the course of his reign, it became evident that von Vladar cared little for the state of his Empire, and cared more for his own gain. Within a year he managed to cause civil unrest throughout the Imperatorian sector and beyond. For much of his reign he managed to keep the Council of Lords suppressed through threats, bribes, blackmail, and even military actions. Throughout the years of his rule, he restored the ancient divide between Invictans and their fellow alien comrades. He removed thousands of non invictan high officials from office, and created policies against countless races he deemed unworthy. Finally, The Consul of Roma, Marc Aurian, led the Council against the corrupt Emperor, and declared Vladar an enemy of the state. Vlader led the splinter faction, the Iron Empire, and fought against the true Emperor, Marc Aurarian, in the largest Imperial Civil War in history, the Crisis of the Four Emperors. Emperor Melicertes Emperor Melicertes was a Helkenican Warlord, and his followers proclaimed him Emperor of Nova Helkenic during the Crisis of the Four Emperors. Emperor Kaxir Nardashir Emperor Kaxir Nardashir was a Pytherian noble and general. During the Crisis of the Four Emperors, he seized power through a military coup, he took control of the Pytherian Sector and neihboring regions. Emperor Marc Aurarian the Great Emperor Marc Aurarian of Roma was a youung military officer, with a noble background. During von Vlader's reign, he would gain the support if many influential individuals, and eventually he had the political sway to have von Vlader declared an enemy of the state. He valiantly led the loyalist Imperials during the civil war, and despite all odds, he restored the Empire. After the Crisis of the Four Emperors, Emperor Marc Aurian spent of the rest of his reign restoring the Empire to its former glory. While he would do much to help unite the Empire, the scars of the Imperial civil war were deep, too deep for his lifetime to fix. Emperor Nerus the Terrible Emperor Nerus of Imperia was a ruthless dictator, and committed countless crimes of untold brutality. Much like Emperor von Vlader, he kept his oppenents silent through political intrigue, bribery, threats, and outright assassinations. He would only undo the work of Emperor Marc Aurian, and ferment division amongst the peoples of the Empire. His brutality led to the third Royal-Imperial War. His reign finally came to an end at the hands of Ryzard von Vertilius. Emperor Ryzard von Vertilius. Ryzard von Vertilius, an Invictan Aristocrat of Imperia, is the current Emperor of the Imperial Invictan Empire. During the chaos of Emperor Nerus’s reign, Ryzard von Vertilius grew in prominence on both the military and political landscape of Imperial society. He, along with many other powerful individuals, would end the corrupt Emperor’s reign that had wreaked destruction and division upon the Empire. After a successful coup against Emperor Nerus, Ryzard Vertilius, with the majority of the Grand Council of Lords support, was elected as the new Emperor. Not long after Ryzard’s election, some of his former allies saw him as unfit to lead the Empire, which would lead to yet another coup. This coup, however, was stopped dead in its tracks as Emperor Vertilius’s allies managed defeat those who attempted to overthrow the Emperor. These traitors were met with unprecedented mercy from an otherwise ruthless Ryzard von Vertilius. After this incident, Ryzard would spend his reign restoring the Empire to its former glory after a century of chaos. His visionary, yet brutal, leadership would unite the fractured Empire, and enter a age of prosperity, but peace was, and is, far off. War has always plagued the Empire’s region of space, countless evils wreak havoc upon the galaxy. The leaders and people of the Empire have remained ever vigilant against those who would dare bring down they’re united Empire.